1.A trade war has spread to the LED industry? US companies accused 11 Chinese companies of infringing patents
According to the US International Trade Commission, on March 27th, U.S. Ultravision Technologies filed an application with the U.S. International Trade Commission pursuant to Section 337 of the U.S. Customs Act of 1930, alleging export to the U.S. The LED lamp driver and its components sold in the United States infringe its patent right, requesting the US International Trade Commission to issue a general exclusion order and prohibition order. The 11 Chinese listed companies are listed in the listed companies, most of which are LED display companies. Alto Electronics, Absen, Lehman Optoelectronics, Shanghai Sisi Electronics, Zhouming Technology, Yuanheng Optoelectronics, Liya De, Lianchuang Jianhe Optoelectronics.
Alto Electronics Responds First 337 Surveys
In response to this allegation, Alto Electronics issued a statement at the first time that Alto Electronics, as an innovative technology listed company, has always attached importance to R&D, innovation and investment, focused on intellectual property protection and management, and actively advocated constructing a favorable market environment for IPR protection. , Conscientiously honor corporate responsibility and social responsibility for respecting the intellectual property rights of others. While fully respecting and not infringing the intellectual property rights of others, the company is also committed to ensuring that independent intellectual property rights are not violated by others through legal means. The company has accumulatively obtained 5 US inventions. Patent and 4 EU invention patents.
As the company's domestic business volume has grown significantly, the proportion of overseas business of the company has decreased, and the company's overseas markets are mainly in other regions. The company's sales to the US market is very small, accounting for less than 2% of company sales revenue in 2017.
In response to the above news, the company attaches great importance to it and is actively conducting related investigations. As of the date of this announcement, the company has not received any formal documents such as a notice of formal complaint. The company will pay close attention to the development of relevant issues in the later period, and will coordinate with relevant national industry associations. Organize, use all necessary legal means to safeguard the company's legitimate rights and interests.
Caused widespread concern in the industry
For this infringement incident, China Optical Opto-Electronics Association believes that the two patents of Ultravision Technologies are mainly waterproof and have no substantive protection effect. The patent has no substantive restrictions on the export of LED display products from China to the United States. Injury. Prior to the patent application, there were already products with the characteristics of the patent being sold on the U.S. market. The patent also did not have the core technology of LED display. Whether it constitutes infringement cannot be determined.
In addition, the industry believes that the 337 investigation application may not be officially investigated by the US International Trade Commission. If a formal investigation is conducted, it is believed that Chinese companies will actively respond to the 337 investigation and have the ability to defend their legitimate rights and interests. Will win 337 investigations like Chinese steel companies.
Zhang Hongbiao, an industry veteran in the LED industry, believes that Ultravision Technologies is mainly engaged in LED display. The main complaint is the Chinese LED display companies. Many domestic leading enterprises have patent layouts in this area, and US companies have less layout in this regard. Most of them are looking for Chinese OEMs. For this part of the product, US companies should have a better layout and avoidance of patents. Most of the LED displays that China exports to the United States are OEMs. Therefore, if they respond, the odds of winning Considerable. However, considering that the Trump administration is actively doing trade protection, Chinese companies may suffer unfair treatment.
Chinese companies are frequently '337 investigated'
The so-called '337 investigation' was named after the 337th clause of the “United States Tariff Act of 1930” and it undergoes several major revisions. According to this clause, the US International Trade Commission has the power to investigate complaints of infringement of patents and registered trademarks, and may also involve Misappropriation of trade secrets, product packaging infringements, imitations, and false advertising, etc. The '337 investigation' survey covers not only foreign companies but also US companies.
It can be said that the 337 investigation is a method of exclusion of competition in the United States to protect the domestic industry and prevent competition products from entering the U.S. market. From 2007 to March 2015, the U.S. launched a total of 362 investigations, including 362 cases in China. As many as 152, accounting for 42%.
It is understood that the LED industry will meet once or twice a year. In 2008, 6 LED companies in mainland China were indicted and 4 of them were listed in the '377' investigation. In 2012, the number of Chinese LED lighting companies surveyed rose to 13. Most of these enterprises are located in the developed areas such as the Pearl River Delta. They generally choose to adopt an attitude of avoidance and indifference. The active responding is rare.
Previously, Xinhua reported that China has been the most surveyed country for 337 consecutive years. In addition, according to data observation and analysis conducted by the Economic Observatory Network, the United States initiated the '337 investigation' of China in May and January. June was also the highest number of months of investigation initiation. The proportion of China-originated surveys that accounted for all '337' surveys initiated by the United States also increased significantly, from 29.4% in 2015 to 40.6% in 2016 and 48.1% in 2017. The '337' investigation is increasing the investigation of Chinese products.
2. Apple/Samsung plots real wireless charging: no contact at all
Last year, the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X phones all provided one function, which is to support wireless charging. This is no stranger to Android camp users, but Apple's implementation on the iPhone is even more remarkable.
For Apple, the iPhone's support for wireless charging will eventually drive the industry's popularity, and more and more mobile phones will support this feature, but now the meaning of wireless charging can not be called in the true sense of wireless charging.
Now, a secret patent application from Samsung has been exposed. From 2016 onwards, it has studied the real implementation of wireless charging, which is still very significant for mobile terminals.
According to Samsung’s published patent details, they built a special area to use reflectors to bypass obstacles. As long as you support the charging standard device, you can charge in the coverage area. Before that, Apple also prepared similar wireless. Charging program.
Now in the process of promoting the development of mobile wireless charging, due to the power of giants such as Apple and Samsung, it is bound to accelerate the pace of development. Therefore, in the true sense of wireless charging, we should be able to look forward to it.
This is the real fantasy way of charging..... fast technology
3. Apple applies for 4 patents for automatic driving including vehicle control and gesture recognition
According to foreign media reports, Apple CEO Tim Cook first publicly acknowledged that they were developing an autopilot system in June last year. After that, Apple also applied for a number of patents in autopilot, and the US Patent and Trademark Office published information. Show, Apple has applied for 4 automatic driving patents.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a document showing that Apple has applied for four new patents related to autonomous driving technology. The application documents were submitted on September 18, September 19 and September 21 of last year. Two patents were applied for on September 19.
The four patents related to autopilot technology applied by Apple Inc., including gesture recognition, vehicle control system and road selection, can identify the gestures of passengers and pedestrians on the road. Specific gestures can also guide the direction of the vehicle. Can choose the appropriate route according to the complex road conditions; Apple's patent application for vehicle control system, using a large number of external sensors, can predict the direction of other vehicles around and respond accordingly.
Although Apple applied for these patents related to autonomous driving technology, from the perspective of many patents applied by Apple in the past, it is still unknown whether these technologies can be put into use in the future.
In addition to applying for patents on autopilot, Apple is currently conducting tests on autopilot technology. Foreign media reported earlier this week that Apple has expanded the scale of test for self-driving cars. California has allowed Apple to Test 45 self-driving cars on public roads in the state. TechWeb
4. National Office: Review of the transfer of intellectual property such as layout design of integrated circuits
Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the “Related Working Methods for the Transfer of Intellectual Property Rights (Trial Implementation)” (Guobanfa [2018] No. 19 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, municipalities, and ministries and commissions of the State Council, and the agencies directly under the State Council: “Relevant work on the transfer of intellectual property rights” The Measures (Trial) has been approved by the State Council and is hereby printed and distributed to you. Please implement it in earnest. The General Office of the State Council March 18, 2018 (this article is publicly released) Related Work Measures for the External Transfer of Intellectual Property Rights (Trial) To Implement the Overall National Security Views, improve the national security system, maintain national security and major public interests, standardize the order of intellectual property rights transfer, formulate these measures based on national security, foreign trade, intellectual property and other relevant laws and regulations.
First, the scope of the review
(1) In case of intellectual property rights such as patent rights involving the export of technology, mergers and acquisitions of domestic enterprises by foreign investors, intellectual property rights such as integrated circuit layout and design, computer software copyrights, plant new variety rights, etc. Measures are reviewed. The intellectual property rights include their application rights. (2) The external transfer of intellectual property described in the present Measures means that the Chinese entity or individual transfers the intellectual property rights in its territory to foreign companies, individuals or other organizations, including the rights holders. Changes, changes in the actual controllers of intellectual property rights and exclusive licensing of intellectual property rights.
Second, review content
(1) The impact of the transfer of intellectual property rights on China's national security. (2) The impact of the transfer of intellectual property rights on the core innovation and development capabilities of key technologies in China's key areas.
Third, the review mechanism
(1) Examination of the transfer of intellectual property rights involved in technology exports.
1. In the technology export activities, when the export technology is the Chinese government's clear prohibition of export-restricted technology in the export-restricted technology catalogue, it shall involve intellectual property rights such as patent rights, exclusive rights to integrated circuit layout plans, and computer software copyrights. Conduct a review. 2. After the local trade authority receives an application for China's export restriction technology submitted by a technology export operator and involves the transfer of intellectual property rights such as patent rights and exclusive rights in the layout design of integrated circuits, the relevant materials shall be transferred to local Intellectual Property Management Department. After receiving the relevant materials, the local intellectual property management department shall review the intellectual property rights to be transferred and issue written written opinions, which shall be reported to the local trade authority and reported to the competent intellectual property department of the State Council for the record. The competent authority shall make a review decision in accordance with the written submissions issued by the local administrative department of intellectual property rights and in accordance with the relevant regulations of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Technology Import and Export" and other relevant regulations. 4. Where the computer software copyrights are transferred from abroad, the competent department of local trade shall Scientific and Technical Departments According to the Chinese People The relevant regulations of the Regulations on the Administration of Import and Export of Technology of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on the Protection of Computer Software shall be reviewed. Computer software copyrights transferred from abroad shall have been registered with computer software registration agencies. The local trading authority shall promptly notify the computer software registration authority of the results of the examination. After reviewing that it is not transferable, the computer software registration authority shall not handle the registration of the change of ownership right after receiving the notification. 5. Where the transfer of the new plant variety rights is an external assignment, the competent department of agriculture and the competent forestry authority shall The relevant provisions of the Regulations on the Protection of New Varieties, etc., are reviewed in accordance with their responsibilities. The key examination content is the impact of the new plant variety rights to be transferred on China's agricultural security, especially food security and seed industry security.
(2) Examination of the transfer of intellectual property rights involved in the security review of domestic enterprises by foreign investors.
1. When a foreign investment security review agency conducts a security review of a merger or acquisition of a domestic company by a foreign investor, which belongs to the scope of the security review of mergers and acquisitions and involves the alienation of intellectual property rights, the relevant materials shall be transferred to relevant supervisors according to the type of intellectual property rights to be transferred. Departments solicit opinions. The intellectual property rights of the State Council shall be the responsibility of the competent authority of the State Council for intellectual property rights involving patents and the exclusive rights of the layout design of integrated circuits; the copyright administration department of the State shall be responsible for the copyright of computer software; the agricultural director of the State Council shall be responsible for the rights of new plant varieties. Departments and forestry authorities are responsible according to their respective responsibilities. 2. The relevant competent authorities shall promptly review and issue written written opinions to the foreign investment safety review agencies. Foreign investment safety review agencies shall refer to the written submissions issued by the relevant competent authorities. The relevant provisions make review decisions.
Fourth, other matters
(1) The relevant competent authorities shall formulate examination rules, clarify the examination materials, review procedures, review deadlines, work responsibilities, etc. (2) After the final decision on the assignment of intellectual property rights is made, if the ownership of the intellectual property right is changed, the two parties to the assignment shall Handle changes in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. (3) The staff of the relevant competent department shall keep the intellectual property rights and transfer the trade secrets of the two parties. (4) If the transfer of intellectual property rights involves the security of national defense, it shall be handled in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State. These Measures shall not apply. (5) The Measures will be implemented on the date of issue. Financial Sector
Where are the 5.5G patents held?
With the forecast that 5G handsets will reach approximately 1.5 billion units in 2025, the RF component market for 5G applications is strategically significant. The RF front module (RF FEM) is one of the key components of 5G applications. Will be highly influenced by the new standards. But these patents are held in the hands of those companies? This is one of the answers that KnowMade has answered in its newly released RF Front End Modules for Cellphones-Patent Landscape Analysis report. The key issue.
The telecommunications revolution at the beginning of the 21st century triggered the development and proliferation of diverse and large-scale communications equipment. According to recent estimates, everyone on the planet has an average mobile phone. One of the impacts of this significant growth has come with it. The demand for data transmission has led to the need to increase the radio spectrum. In fact, from the four frequency bands of the 2000s, there have been more than 30 frequency bands - and this figure will increase again with the arrival of 5G. In order to manage these frequency bands, The mobile radio module field has seen significant development.
At present, we are taking the first step towards 5G networks and it is expected that 5G will become the standard of RF radio communication by 2020. The 5th generation of cellular networks is expected to be launched in the next 2 to 5 years to realize a large number of new applications. And services, and Gigabit per second data transfer rates. One of the key drivers for developing this speed is the high resolution (resolution) video requirements on mobile devices (get image quality above 4K and 8K). Future applications, such as mobile-driven Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), will benefit from this technological capability. In addition, data generated by Internet of Things (IoT) terminal devices will also require It is transmitted over cellular networks. Therefore, from 2017 to 2022, global mobile data traffic will grow at a CAGR of over 40%.
According to Yole Développement, the RF front-end module market for 5G handsets is expected to reach 7.8 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, and is expected to reach 35.3 billion U.S. dollars by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 35% from 2020 to 2025. As 5G faces Strong technical challenges may reshuffle and change the situation in the mobile telecommunications market. Therefore, the strategy of intellectual property rights is very important to ensure that enterprises have an advantageous market position in the coming years.
In its new patent analysis report, KnowMade thoroughly investigated the patent situation of RF FEM dedicated to mobile applications. KnowMade also assessed the intellectual property status of major participants through detailed analysis of patent portfolio, including the legal status of patents, geography. Coverage, their claimed invention content and their existing technical contributions. In addition, KnowMade has studied the IP intellectual property strategies and IP blocking potential of major market players, and their IP portfolio that addresses the challenges of 5G applications, such as Multiple input output MIMO, beamforming, carrier aggregation, millimeter wave and other technical solutions.
The most important results are as follows: As of 2017, more than 500 patent applicants have issued more than 1,380 RF front-end module inventions worldwide. In the late 1980s, there were RF FEM-related patent activities, including Alcatel, Mobile phone pioneers such as Motorola and Panasonic. RF FEM IP activities have been closely linked to the development of new standards since then. For example, the first wave of patent publication in the 2000s was related to democratization of mobile phones and 2G and 3G standards. The echo of the arrival.
Since 2010, with 3G deployment and market integration (2008 - 2012), 4G and imperative 5G (needs to develop new technologies) have relaunched patent activities. At present, mobile phone RF FEM-related intellectual property pattern Driven by market leaders, M&A activity has consolidated the patent portfolio of key players in the industry, such as Qualcomm, Broadcom Broadcom, Skyworks, and Murata Murata, etc. Surprisingly, part of the industry participants focused on integrated processes (ie, LG Innotek, Samsung Electromechanics, Hon Hai, etc.) are also among the top 20 patent applicants in RF. In addition, the rapid development of Chinese corporate R&D activities has encouraged established companies to actively deploy and protect their inventions and markets. Interestingly, Oppo ranks The 20th most important applicant, and Apple did not even score in the top 20.
Presumably, companies such as Broadcom, Qualcomm, Qorvo, Skyworks, and Nokia have the highest potential for patent blockade blocking. However, the most important part of KnowMade analysis is the subject of patents. Carrier Aggregation and MIMO Receiver/Transmitters are KnowMade analysis. Of all patents, there are the subjects of the most relevant patents, but this is not surprising, because they are the main topics of 5G. However, it is surprising that the important new trends related to millimeter-wave communication do not currently have many related patents. The topic. This means that it is either a very complex R&D topic, and companies that develop this block lack innovative solutions, or there are many patents to be published, and we are currently in the 'gray zone' on the eve of release.
As 5G becomes a key market for equipment, modules and system level, you can expect intense war of patents among industry participants! Yole